Water-indicator and alarm for steam-boilers



(No Model.) I L.- STEIGBRT.

WATER INDICATOR AND ALARM FOR STEAM BOILERS. No. 595,418. Patented Dec. 14, 1897.

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"UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'LEOPOLD STEIGERT, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

WATER-INDICATOR AND ALARM FOR STEAM-BOlLERSL' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,418, dated December 14, 1897. Application filed May 12, 1897. Serial No. 636,202. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD STEIGERT, a citizen-of the United, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in Tater-Indicators and Alarms for Steam-Boilers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for use in indicating the height of water in steamboilers, including also the sounding of an alarm for either high or low water, and especially to improvements in the device patented by me October 5, 1869, No. 95,533; and it consists in the novel features of construction'and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the. claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the float and the rock-shaft on which it is rigidly mounted, both embodying a part of my invention herein; Fig. 2, a lonwith the alarm device, the latter in this view being an electric contact mechanism for use in ringing bells or gongs instead of sounding whistles.

A represents an ordinary shell or chamber, which is duly attached to the side of a steamboiler, having water communicationtherewith by means of pipe at and steam communication therewith by means of pipe (2, said pipes tapping the bottom and top, respectively, of said shell and being shown broken ofi, (it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate the boiler,) as seen in Fig. 4.

B represents a hollow ball or float having a hollow rod or stem connection 0 with the coupling or cap D, the latter in turn being mounted at the inner end of the transverse rock-shaft E.

The outer end of the shaft E passes through a suitable stuffing-box in the outer side of shell A and has a right-angled hinged lever on the shaft 5 and disposed between automatic pistons or stems c and 0, respectively, which latter actuate the valves of the whistles or alarms d and 01, respectively, the whistle d being a large one and indicating by its low sound or intonation nominally-corresponding low stages of water, and the other whistle d being a small one and indicating by its shrill sound or intonation nominallycorresponding high-water stages in the boiler. It is obvious that instead of whistles being used the upright arm I) could be used to act between electric alarm-contacts e 6, (see Fig. 5,) whichv would ring large and small bells, respectively, and sound alarms to suit the several low and high stages of the water.

F is an indicator device attached to the shell, the hinged lever F being attached to its index f and the latter to the outer end of the rock-shaft E for due operation.

i It will be clearly seen in Fig. 4- that I construct the top of my auxiliary shell A and mount and arrange thevalve devices and the lower nipples of the steam-whistles above the usual level or stage of water in the shell, and thus any scale, foam, bubbles, or other foreign matter floating on the water cannot reach the entrances to the whistles, which arrangement obviously keeps said entrances to the whistles and the passage-ways in the top of the shell constantly free from clogging up and open to the steam-pressure, so that the whistles are always sure to respond to the valve actions and just as certain to be promptly sounded for the several extreme or danger lines of the water.

Ithas been found in extensive practice heretofore that hollow ball-floats are more or less defective, owing to what is termed sweat ing of the ball internally and the accumulation of water resultant therefrom within,

thus destroying its practical effect as a float.

In order to rectify this difficulty, I provide the stem or arm 0 of the float .with an inter- IOO connection with the ball, and the other or lower end has preferably one or more notches C made therein, whereby any accumulated water within the ball, resulting from either condensation, sweating, or leakage, or all these causes, may drain or pass off, down to the very last drop, while the boiler and float are in use in the steam-generating operation. In order that the accumulations within the ball may pass off automatically therefrom, thence through the hollow arm or stem, and thence through the cap or coupling D and shaft E to the atmosphere, I provide a short longitudinal passage-way D in the inner end of said shaft E, said passageway having a minute transverse outlet or orifice E, which opens to the air at a point outside the wall of shell A and is amply sufficient in area to carry off all accumulations from within the ball, leaving the latter in a light, buoyant, and unhampered condition at all times (while the boiler is in use) for due operation as a float, riding on the water accurately and performing its work positively on the alarm and other desired indicator or regulator devices.

In the operation of my float device the accumulated moisture or fluid in the ball (however it got in) becomes evaporated by the transmission of heat from the boiling water and steam proceeding into the auxiliary shell or chamber from the boiler. The steam thus generated in the ball soon has a pressure of its own, of course, and forces the said moisture or water through the internal gooseneck extension, thereby automatically draining it (even to the last drop, as hereinbefore stated) into the hollow arm or stem and thence through the passage-way in the rock-shaft to the atmosphere, where it discharges in a tiny jet or spray. Thus the ball, instead of being practically a dead one and a heavy load on the alarm and indicator devices, now becomes a live and very active one and really a float in fact as well as in name, performing the function of rocking said shaft E with even the slightest variation in the height of the water in the boiler and chamber A, so that the alarm and indicator devices may be duly actuated while the boiler is in use. The presence of my drain-tube and passage-way therefore prevents to a great extent any accumulations of moisture or fluid within the ball, and should any occur they are very readily and quickly withdrawn by said means and in the manner stated.

I claim In a steam-boiler alarm, the combination, with a shell or chamber connected with the boiler, of two alarm devices thereon, a rockshaft between the alarms provided with an arm at one end and with an upright between the alarms and adapted to engage with either one of them, a rock-shaft journaled in the shell or casing, the inner end of which is provided with a float and the outer end is provided with an indicating-finger, and a pivoted rod connecting the finger with the arm on the first-mentioned rock-shaft, substantially as set forth.

In testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand.

LEOPOLD STEIGERT.

Witnesses:

J OHN ELIAS JoNEs, SHERWOOD R. TAYLOR. 

